


12 Days of Barson Christmas

by motherbearof3



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Christmas, F/M, Family, Fluff, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-26
Updated: 2017-12-26
Packaged: 2019-02-20 16:51:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13150899
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/motherbearof3/pseuds/motherbearof3
Summary: "On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: a partridge in a pear tree." That’s how the original song goes. But in the world of Olivia Benson and Rafael Barba, gifts are a little less traditional and not always tangible.Our stories begin on December 14th and continue in order through Christmas. Some are short little scenes, others are longer. Most of it is fluff and fun, but not everything; because as we all know, holidays are not always candy canes and mistletoe. I hope you enjoy reading. Merry Christmas!





	12 Days of Barson Christmas

**Author's Note:**

> Written for thebarsondaily tumblr Secret Santa Exchange 2017.
> 
> If you read carefully, you’ll see I’ve not only used actual canon and my own head canon but also borrowed one bit of head canon created by theoofoof because it was so wonderful when she wrote it and fits in perfectly.
> 
> Many thanks to my two first ever beta's xphile101 and theoofoof for their keen eyes and wonderful suggestions.
> 
> Please let me know which day is your favorite. I love them all, but if I had to choose it would be Day 6. It makes me laugh every time.

**December 14th** ****  
On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me:  
_a new coffee pot for Liv’s place_

 

Rafael was finishing the knot on his tie when Olivia came into the bedroom holding out his Harvard Law mug filled with steaming coffee. Noah was still asleep and they had a few more moments alone before he had to get up for school. Taking it from her hand, he traded it for a kiss.

“Thank you, _mi amor_.”

Lifting it to his lips, he anticipated the first rush of caffeine of the day. But as the sweetened liquid hit his tongue he turned away on the pretense of picking up his jacket and grimaced before swallowing. _Ugh_. While he’d never say so, he couldn’t stand the coffee at her apartment.

He wasn’t sure if it was the pot, the coffee or both, but something needed to be done. He decided he was buying Olivia a new coffee pot that day. Christmas was less than two weeks away, but he wasn’t waiting to give it to her. Rafael walked to the kitchen and poured his cup down the drain while she was in Noah’s room. He’d have coffee when he got to his office.

  


**December 15th  
** On the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me:  
_Lunch for two, no work talk_

 

Olivia breezed into Rafael’s office Friday afternoon calling, “Hold his calls please, Carmen. We’re having lunch,” over her shoulder before she closed the door. She put the takeout bag down on the round conference table, then returned to his desk and closed his laptop.

“Hey!” he protested, “I was in the middle of a brief about —“ She silenced him with a kiss.

“Nope. No work talk during lunch. You made that rule awhile ago.”

Standing, he smiled at the woman he loved and put up his hands in surrender. “You’re right. So what are we talking about?”

He pulled out a chair for her and then sat beside her as she unpacked the bag of Chinese food.

“Christmas, Rafael. Christmas is in ten days and we’ve done no shopping. Have you bought anything yet?”

He smirked. “A few things for you. I already gave you the coffee maker. And something for Noah. But other than that, no.”

“Well, I haven’t gotten anything for Noah. Or you. Or your mother. We need to do some shopping this weekend. And we still don’t have a tree.”

“A tree?” His eyebrows rose as he took a bite, chewed and swallowed. “A real tree?”

“Yes, a real tree. You don’t have a real tree?”

“I’ve never had a tree at all. We did when I was a child and my mother has one, but I honestly don’t know if it’s real or not.”

“Then we’re definitely getting a real tree this weekend. And shopping,” she declared.

  


**December 16th  
** On the third day of Christmas, my true love gave to me (well actually Noah):  
_3 tickets to see Ferdinand_

 

Saturday morning found the three of them eating breakfast, Noah and Olivia discussing where the Christmas tree should go that year, when Rafael got up from his chair. She looked at him quizzically.

“Be right back,” he told her, and disappeared down the hall to her bedroom, returning a moment later with a brightly wrapped, flat package that he put in front of Noah’s cereal bowl. “I know Christmas isn’t until next week, but this is a special present.”

The boy looked at his mother. “Can I open it?”

“May I.” she corrected, moving the bowl away to prevent spills. “And yes, you may.”

Noah pulled off the bow and tore away the paper to reveal a book. It had a worn red cover with a drawing of a bull on it smelling a flower. The title was “The Story of Ferdinand”. He looked at Rafael with a grin.

“We’ve read this story in school! Ferdinand likes to smell flowers.”

“This was my book when I was a little boy, _hijo_ ,” said the man. “It was one of my favorites and my _mami_ saved it. I thought you might like to have it.” Olivia reached over to touch his arm and he met her gaze, his green eyes full of love. He cleared his throat. “But that’s not all. Open it.”

Noah opened the cover and to find an envelope inside. He opened the envelope and pulled out three tickets. Olivia leaned over to look at them. They were for a showing of the new movie based on the book that afternoon.

“I thought we could go see the movie today after we get the Christmas tree.” He looked at Liv and shrugged. “We can shop tomorrow.”

 

 

**December 17th  
** On the fourth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me:  
_4 new pillows for Rafael’s bed_

 

Olivia pushed herself up on an elbow and tried to make the pillows under her head more comfortable. She looked at the man snoring softly beside her. _How does he sleep on these things?_ It wasn’t the first time she had wondered this since the start of their relationship.

The pillows on his bed were horrible. She had fluffed and folded and scrunched them to no avail. She’d even swapped the two on her side for his, thinking they might be different. But no. She put her head back down gingerly and closed her eyes. Ah. She drifted back to sleep. In the morning, however, her neck reminded her how bad the pillows were.

That evening while Rafael read Noah’s bedtime story, she was busy with the new pillows she’d bought that afternoon while they were Christmas shopping. She stood back and admired them in place on the bed; tall and fluffy with the perfect amount of neck support. It had taken forever to choose the right ones. Memory foam, regular foam, feather, down, synthetic down…Olivia never realized the endless options when it came to pillows

She returned to Rafael’s home office that currently doubled as Noah’s bedroom to kiss her son goodnight. Closing the door behind them, she took the lawyer’s hand and said, “Come here. I have a present for you.”

“It’s not Christmas yet, Liv,” he replied, but grinned when he realized she was leading him toward the bedroom. “Oh.”

She smacked him lightly on the arm and rolled her eyes. “A real present! Close your eyes.” He did and she positioned him facing the bed. “Okay, now open them.”

Rafael opened his eyes to see four new pillows on the bed, each pair topped with a large red bow. He turned to Olivia.

“Pillows?”

“Rafael, I love you, but your pillows were horrible.” She watched as he walked to his side of the bed, removed the bow, sat, then lay back onto the new pillows. He closed his eyes with a smile. Opening them, he held out a hand to her.

“Why don’t you come over here and we’ll break them in?”

 

 

**December 18th  
** On the fifth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me:  
_5 gold pen refills_

 

“Olivia Margaret Benson!”

At the sound of her full name, she looked up from the cookbook she was perusing for cookie recipes and glanced at him over the top of her glasses.

“Rafael Eduardo Barba!” she shot back. “What did I do to deserve my full name?” He was holding up his favorite gold pen, waggling it at her.

“Did you use my pen to do the Christmas cards?”

“Yes. It’s the best pen we have.”

“That’s why it’s my favorite. And now it’s out of ink!” He scribbled on the legal pad on the table in front of him and held it up. There was nothing on the page. Olivia sighed, putting down the cookbook and removing her glasses. She knew this would happen someday. Carmen usually took care of refilling the pen before he realized the ink was getting low. He probably never even noticed.

“Rafa, it’s okay. I was going to give this to you for Christmas, but I guess it will have to be now.” She picked up a small box wrapped in gold foil with a red ribbon from under the Christmas tree that dominated the living room.

“That’s mine? Are you hiding my presents in plain view, Liv?” He smirked, accepting the package.

“Just this one.”

She watched, curious to see how the man she loved unwrapped a present. The answer was damned seductively. Christmas morning was going to be interesting, she thought. His long fingers pulled the ribbon to loosen the knot and let it slide off the box onto the table. Then he turned it over to pull at the paper where it was taped together until it came free from the box. He removed the lid and a large grin formed on his face. Reaching in, his hand emerged with five refills for his beloved pen.

 

 

 

**December 19th  
** On the sixth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me:  
_6 dozen cookies for Noah’s school_

 

“You agreed to _what_?”

“They need cookies for the school holiday party, so I said we’d make some,” replied Rafael into his phone to Olivia, who was still at work. He’d picked up Noah after school and was cornered by the moms organizing the event for a contribution to the refreshments. The boy had looked up at him with puppy dog eyes and said, ‘Can we? Please?’ and Rafael was lost.

“How many?” When he hesitated before replying, she knew it was more than she’d have agreed to contribute. “How many, Rafael?”

“Six dozen.” He spoke the words quietly and held the phone from his ear in anticipation of the explosion of sound while Noah giggled, watching. When he heard nothing, he cautiously put it closer to his head. No sound came from the device.

“Liv? Are you there?”

“Oh, I’m here. And here is where I will stay until you are done making those cookies, counselor.” He could hear the laughter in her voice. “You know your way around my kitchen. Have fun. I love you both.”

Olivia ended the call and gave in to the laughter that she’d been holding back. She laughed until tears ran down her face and her sides hurt. She should have warned him about those moms. They always zeroed in on the dads, especially the good looking ones. As she wiped her eyes she reflected on the fact that Rafael was acting as a dad to Noah. It warmed her heart that he had stepped into the role so willingly and it was easily accepted by the child who had taken to calling him _Papi_ Rafa.

Back at her apartment, man and boy were in negotiations over what kind of cookie to make, several cookbooks open on the dining table. Rafael was leaning toward one with the least number of ingredients, which to him equalled lesser difficulty. But Noah’s eyes were drawn to the pictures of the colorfully decorated ones.

“How about chocolate chip?” Barba pressed. “That’s your favorite.” The boy nodded.

“Yes, but this is a holiday party. Chocolate chip cookies aren’t holiday cookies,” he argued. “These are.” He placed a small finger on picture of the festive cut out cookies covered in frosting and sprinkles.

_Dios_ , a lawyer in the making, Rafael thought, his lips twitching with a smile. He read the recipe. It really wasn’t that complicated. Just the part about rolling the dough and cutting out the shapes. He paused and looked at the boy, thinking he had just won his case.

“Noah, we can’t make these. We don’t have any cookie cutters.”

“Yes we do!” Noah jumped down from the chair and ran to the kitchen.

Barba heard him open and close a cabinet. He returned with a large plastic container in his arms full of cookie cutters. _Damn_. If he didn’t know better, he’d think Olivia bought those deliberately, knowing he’d get suckered into doing this.

“Okay, _hijo_. Holiday cut out cookies it is,” he laughed.

Several hours later, Olivia unlocked her apartment door and was greeted by the smell of freshly baked cookies. A few steps in and she could see they covered most of the flat surfaces in the main area of the apartment. There were cookies in the shapes of stars, candy canes, Christmas trees, snowmen, reindeer and a few others she couldn’t identify. Each one was decorated with colorful frosting and sprinkles. She glanced into the kitchen, expecting it to be a disaster, but it didn’t look like any baking had taken place at all.

Hearing voices coming from Noah’s room, she made her way down the hall and pushed open the door. Rafael sat on the edge of the bed, finishing the tuck-in process.

“Mommy!” her son cried, happy she was home in time to kiss him goodnight.

“Hello, my sweet boy.” She sat beside Rafael and hugged Noah tightly, before kissing the man on the cheek.

“We made cookies for the party at school,” he told her.

“I saw them,” she said. “You and Rafa did a good job. Am I allowed to have one?”

He nodded. “There’s a plate for us to keep.”

“Then I’ll have one after I eat some dinner. Time for sleep now.” She kissed him on the forehead. “Good night, my love.”

“‘Night, Mommy. ‘Night, _Papi_ Rafa.” The boy yawned widely.

“Good night, _hijo_.” Rafael kissed the top of his head, gently ruffling his curls.

The two left his room, closing the door behind them. They walked into her bedroom where he wrapped his arms around her and they shared a more intimate kiss. She rested her forehead against his when it ended.

“You smell like powdered sugar,” she said softly.

“I was covered in it,” he replied. “So was Noah. Do you know how much powdered sugar it takes to make frosting for six dozen cookies?”

 

 

**December 20th  
** On the seventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me:  
_a 7 day pass to a gym_

 

“I got us something,” Olivia told her fiancé, putting her arm through his and tucking her hand into the pocket of his overcoat to keep it warm as they walked down the sidewalk.

“Liv, Christmas is Monday. If you keep giving me presents, there won’t be anything left under the tree,” he chuckled at her shifting his briefcase to his other hand, so he could put his in the pocket with hers and hold it. Since they’d gotten engaged and disclosed their relationship, they were a little more open with displays of affection in public.

“It’s not really a present. Just something I thought we could try. A new gym opened down the street from the precinct and they were offering seven day free trial passes.”

“Are you saying I need to go to a gym?” He pretended to look offended. She elbowed him playfully.

“No. I’ve seen you naked, Rafa, and you are quite fine the way you are.” She winked at him, then continued. “But I know you used to run a little, and I used to do some yoga and use the weight machines at a place I belonged to when Noah was a baby. I’ve gotten away from it and thought this might be a good way to get back to it.”

He nodded. She was right. When he first transferred to the Manhattan DA’s office, he used to run two or three days a week. More if he was feeling stressed. Then it turned into a glass or two of scotch instead, as a stress reliever. Although lately, sex with the woman he was going to marry had become an excellent way to relieve stress.

“Sure. Let’s try it out. You know I like getting sweaty with you.”

 

 

**December 21  
** On the eighth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me:  
_An Argument_

 

“Don’t tell me how to do my job, Barba!”

Olivia’s voice was louder than she intended as she slapped her palms flat on her desk and met his green eyes with her flashing brown ones. Her words carried out into the squad room and her detectives exchanged glances. It had been awhile since they heard her refer to her fiancé by his last name.

It was bad enough to catch a case four days before Christmas. But when it was the death of two siblings, one an infant, and the other the same age as Noah, tensions ran higher than usual. Both Olivia and Rafael wanted it wrapped up and justice served for the two children. Preferably before the holiday.

“Lieu must really be pissed,” muttered Carisi.

“This case has gotten to her a little since the boy was the same as Noah. If there was a victim the same age as Jessie,” Rollins voice trailed off, and Carisi nodded in agreement.

Back in Olivia’s office, Rafael was trying to reason with the woman he loved. She had been at the precinct since late the night before when they first got the call about the children. Thus far, not much about the case required action by the DA’s office, so he had gotten Noah up and off to school and picked him up after, explaining that his mom was working. The boy was accustomed to her being away for work, but that still didn’t preclude him from asking when she was coming home.

“Liv,” he said calmly, speaking the way he did when he had a hostile witness on the stand. “You don’t have to solve this case yourself. You have Fin, Rollins and Carisi -- all three very capable detectives --  who can manage things just fine without you here. Come home with me. Noah is so excited about Christmas.” He paused when he saw her face soften at the mention of her son.

He thought his next statement would win the argument for him, but it did the exact opposite.

“He’s been asking when you’re coming home. He wants to make cookies to leave for Santa and string popcorn for on the tree and watch Rudolf with us tonight. He’s five, _mi amor._ This is when Christmas is extra magical.” He waved his hands in a small flourish to emphasize the word.

Her tired eyes narrowed as she looked at him where he was now perched on the edge of her desk.

“Sure, Rafael. No problem. We’ll go home to our five year old and do all those magical Christmas things, while there’s another five year old boy lying dead in the morgue, his little malnourished body covered in bruises and cigarette burns.”

She crossed her arms over her chest and pressed her lips together for a moment before continuing.

“Him and his baby sister,” she said, bitingly  “But that’s okay. I’ll just send everyone home and we won’t work on this case until after Christmas? How about that?”

“That’s not --”

“Then don’t tell me what I should or shouldn’t do,” she said putting her reading glasses on, and going back to the reports she had been reviewing before he’d come into her office, effectively dismissing him.

Biting back a sigh, he tried one more time, speaking softly, leaning toward her. “Liv --”

“Go home, Rafa. Tell Noah I love him.” She didn’t lift her head from the report.

 

 

**December 22  
** On the ninth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me:  
_An apology_

 

It was very early the next day -- still night really -- when Olivia quietly opened the door to her apartment and stepped inside. They finally had gotten a break in the case on the siblings and were ready to make an arrest. All she needed was a warrant but that could wait until actual morning. It wasn’t necessary to wake Rafael and a judge.

The living room’s only illumination was the lights on the Christmas tree and the smell of the fresh pine tree lingered in the air. Her winter coat went on the rack by the door. Then she unzipped her boots and pulled them off, sighing as she did so. She needed a shower and some sleep.

She really hadn’t meant to speak to Rafael so harshly the day before. There were just some cases that she couldn’t leave until she was ready. This was one of them. Every time she looked at the crime scene photos of that little boy, all she saw was Noah and thought if Judge Linden hadn’t suggested she become his foster mother, that could be him in that refrigerated drawer. They’d discovered it was the foster family who had abused and eventually caused the boy and his sister’s deaths.

But it wasn’t him. He was here. Healthy, happy with two parents who loved him. No, they weren’t married yet, but Rafael had stepped into the role of father with little hesitation and Noah accepted it with equal enthusiasm. She loved seeing the two of them together. It made her heart happy. She sighed again. She owed the man who made her so happy an apology.

Olivia walked quietly down the hall toward the bedrooms. She stopped at Noah’s room first and opened the door. He was sprawled on his back, but his arm was curled around Eddie the Elephant, one of the first gifts Rafael ever bought him on a outing to the zoo. He had kicked off the covers so she pulled them up over his little pajama-clad body, thinking his limbs looked longer; that he’d grown taller in the short period since she’d last seen him. Brushing his curls back, she leaned over and pressed a kiss on his forehead.

“Sweet dreams,” she whispered. “Mama loves you.”

Leaving the room and pulling the door almost closed behind her, she moved on to the bedroom she shared with Rafael, thinking he was right (again) and it really was time they all moved into his place. It was bigger and had two and a half baths. Not to mention a functional fireplace; something she had always wanted. This door too, was not completely closed and the faintest of light glowed through the crack. She wondered if he was still awake. Pushing it open further, she stopped in the doorway. He was.

Rafael was sitting up in bed, reading not a law journal as one would expect, but the latest crime novel on the New York Times bestseller list. They were one of his few guilty pleasures, like Broadway musicals. She wondered when he’d bought that, thinking now she needed to return the copy that was wrapped and waiting under the tree from her. He lifted his head to look at her where she stood.

“Hi,” she said softly.

“Hi.” He slid a bookmark between the pages and closed the book, letting it lay on his lap. “You look tired.”

She smiled and ran a hand through her hair. “I am. But I need a shower first.”

“Go then.” He nodded toward the bathroom. “Are you hungry? I can heat up something for you.”

She shook her head. “No. Some tea, maybe?”

“Done.” He moved the book from his lap and threw back the covers to get out of bed.

Olivia went into the bathroom and turned on the shower, dropping her clothes in the hamper before climbing in and standing under the hot water, letting it soothe her tired muscles. She heard the door open, and could see Rafael through the steamed up glass shower door. He leaned against the vanity and folded his arms across his chest.

“Tea’s ready.”

“Okay. I’ll be out in a minute,” she replied. When he didn’t leave, she continued, because it was a little easier with the glass between them. “Rafa?”

“Yes?”

“I’m sorry about yesterday. In my office.”

“You don’t have to apologize to me, _querida,_ for being passionate about your job. That’s one of the things that made me fall in love with you, and keeps me loving you.”

She turned off the water suddenly, opened the glass door and threw herself at him with a small sob, wrapping her arms around his shoulders not caring that she was dripping wet. And naked. He returned her embrace, smoothing her damp hair and murmuring soothing sounds. Then she remembered she was dripping wet. And naked. Pulling away from him, she reached for a towel and wrapped it around herself then looked sheepishly at the wet splotches on his t-shirt and sweatpants.

“Sorry about that.”

He waved her words away and pulled the shirt off, tossing it in the hamper. Tired as she was, desired flared in her at the sight of his bare, toned chest; something that was only going to get better if they decided to join the gym they’d been trying out. Seeing the look in her eyes, he smirked at her and said,

“See something you like, Lieutenant?”

“Oh, I do. But I’m too tired to do anything but admire tonight.”

“Then get dried and come to bed and you can admire some more.” He turned and left the bathroom.

Dry and in an oversized t-shirt, Olivia climbed into bed beside Rafael, her tea now cold and forgotten. He pulled her close against him, her back to his chest, legs bent and spooned with hers. She was asleep in minutes and they slept like that until the alarm went off.

 

 

**December 23  
** On the tenth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me:  
_10 minutes of privacy_

 

It was the day before Christmas Eve and SVU had caught an intense case earlier in the week, resulting in little time alone for ADA Rafael Barba and his fiancee Lieutenant Olivia Benson. Their conversations had been limited when they did see each other and anything beyond a brief kiss or hug hadn’t happened for several days. Barba looked at his watch. He was due at the courthouse in an hour for the arraignment of the foster parents accused of abusing and eventually causing the death of two children. That meant he could steal ten minutes with the woman he loved.

The elevator doors opened and he walked into the squad room that was decorated festively. The only member of Olivia’s team there was Fin Tutuola. He looked up from his computer as Rafael approached.

“Counselor. Thought we’d be seeing you in about an hour. Something change?”

“No. I just need ten minutes with Olivia.” Finn nodded.

“I got you covered.”

“Thanks.” He clapped the other man on the shoulder as he walked by and into the open door of Olivia’s office, closing it behind him. She looked up from the documents she was reviewing.

“Rafa! What are you doing here? I thought I’d see you at the courthouse.”

“You will. But I just need ten minutes.” He locked the door. “With you.” He closed the blinds on the window that looked out to the squad room. “Alone.” Pulling his phone from his pocket, he pressed the home key, said, “Set a timer for 10 minutes.” and placed it on her desk.

She frowned slightly, removing her glasses. She was having a hard time reading him.

“Is something wrong?”

“Yes.” He took her hand and pulled her to her feet, then leaned against the edge of her desk and drew her close. “I needed to do this.”

He placed a hand on either side of her face and kissed her. “And this.” He kissed her again, running his tongue across her bottom lip, asking permission for access to her mouth.

“Oh.” She replied softly without removing her lips from his, and ran her hands under his jacket and around to the silky back of the vest he wore. Then she opened her mouth and they kissed slowly. Deeply. Lovingly. His hands moved so one cradled the back of her head, fingers tangling in her hair; the other went around her waist, pulling her closer to him. One of his leg moved between hers and she could feel his hardness pressed against her through his trousers. There had been no time for any of this the last few days and she missed it. Missed him.

Finally, they both needed to catch their breath and she rested her head on his shoulder, breathing in his scent, while their pulse rates returned to normal. As she was about to lift her head and step away, the timer went off on his phone. They looked at each other and smiled, and he reached for the device to silence the alarm.

He placed one last kiss on her lips and said, “I’ll see you at the courthouse.”

 

 

 

**December 24th  
** On the eleventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me:  
_11 Things I Love About You_

 

Olivia let Rafael sleep in on the morning of Christmas Eve, knowing that was a luxury he didn’t often allow himself. She got up with Noah and kept him quiet.

When he finally woke, Rafael rolled over and found the other side of the bed empty. He could hear the sounds of the television coming from beyond the bedroom. Stretching until his joints popped, he sat up, threw back the covers and padded into the bathroom. After showering for longer than he normally did, he dressed in jeans and a sweater, and barefoot, headed toward the smell of coffee. As he reached the dresser, he saw an envelope propped against the mirror. It had a candy cane taped to it and his name written in Liv’s scrawl.

Pulling the candy cane off, he unwrapped it and stuck the end into his mouth. Then he lifted the flap and pulled out a folded sheet of paper. Across the top was written, again in Liv’s untidy handwriting:

_**11 things I love about you** _

Then, _“Rafa, today is the 11th Day of Christmas (according to the song) so I thought I would give you a list of 11 things I love about you. Not in order of importance, because they are all equally important.”_

  1. You challenge me. Professionally and personally.
  2. You don’t give up. Not just in the courtroom. You wouldn’t be reading this if you did.
  3. Your green eyes.
  4. Your suspenders. And your ties. And your vests.
  5. The way you treat Noah as if he was your biological child.
  6. The way you sing.
  7. Your sexy hands.
  8. The way you treat your mother.
  9. The way you take care of me, even when I don’t want you to.
  10. Your sassy sense of humor
  11. That you chose me to love.



Not often was Rafael Barba rendered speechless, but by the time he got to the bottom of the page he was at a loss for words. It was rare that Olivia laid bare her heart like this, even to him. Carefully refolding the paper, he put it back in the envelope and returned it to the dresser. He left the bedroom in search of the woman he loved and found her, sitting on the couch, reading a Christmas book with Noah.

She looked up with a smile as he approached, “Good morning, sleepy head. You look rested.” Then she noticed the candy cane in his mouth. “I see you found my note.”

He took the book from her and handed it to Noah. “I need to borrow your mom for a minute, _hijo._ ”

He grasped her hand and drew her to her feet, leading her into the kitchen and tossing the candy cane to the counter before pulling her into a tight embrace. Leaning back with his arms still around her, he looked into her chocolate brown eyes and said,

“Olivia Benson, if I hadn’t already proposed to you, I’d be on one knee right now.”

 

 

**December 25th  
** On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me:  
_12 days of vacation_

 

Christmas morning came early. Earlier than either Olivia and Rafael wanted, considering they’d stayed up late into the night on Christmas Eve after all the presents were under the tree and the cookies left for Santa eaten, talking about their wedding. No actual decisions had been made, save for the fact that they both wanted it to be small and private.

“Mommy! _Papi_ Rafa! It’s Christmas! Santa came!” Noah came running into the room and threw himself between them on the bed.

“Oof.” Rafael exhaled sharply as a knee landed dangerously close to a sensitive region of his body and opened an eye. “ _Hijo_ , do you know what time it is?”

“Time to get up!” the boy declared.

“Noah, my sweet boy, why don’t you snuggle with us for a little while? Then we’ll get up.” Olivia tried to draw him down onto the pillows, but her son was not having it.

“No. It’s time to get up and open presents. Santa ate the cookies I left him! And the reindeer food is gone, too!” He bounced off the bed and ran back to the living room.

Realizing any hope for additional sleep was futile, Olivia pushed back the covers and rolled out of bed, reaching for her robe. Once it was on, she put a knee back on the mattress and leaned over to give Rafael a kiss on the cheek. “Merry Christmas. I know you’re awake.”

“ _Feliz Navidad, mi amor,”_ he mumbled. She poked him in the side where she knew he was ticklish. He jumped and opened sleepy green eyes at the woman above him.

“Why don’t you start the coffee? I haven’t figured out that fancy thing you bought me.” His reply was to reach out and grab her arm, pulling her off balance and down onto his warm bare chest, rolling over to pin her beneath him. “Hey!”

“How long do you think he’ll stay out there?” He nuzzled her neck. She wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a brief kiss, mindful that she needed to brush her teeth.

“Not long enough. Unless you want him opening everyone’s presents.”

At that, he rolled off of her, and pulled on his sweatpants and a silly Christmas T-shirt of a llama wearing a Santa hat that Rollins and Carisi had given him. Liv was wearing a matching one. Holding out a hand to pull her up from the bed he said,

“Okay, Mrs. Claus, let’s do this.”

Noah was standing in the living room beside the Christmas tree, excitedly hopping from one foot to the other when the two adults walked in.

“I didn’t touch any of the presents,” he told them. “ I just looked to see which ones were for me.”

His mother laughed. “Rafa’s going to make coffee and then we’ll open them, okay? Do you want some juice?”

A little while later the floor was littered with torn wrapping paper and unraveled ribbon and a very happy little boy sitting in the middle of it all. Olivia and Rafael sat together on the couch, cups of coffee in their hands, watching as he moved back and forth between the toys he’d unwrapped. She rested her head on his shoulder.

“I think we did good.”

“Oh, it’s not over,” he murmured.

“What? Oh, the t-r-a-i-n  t-a-b-l-e.” There was a table waiting at Rafael’s apartment for the train Noah opened from Santa.

“No, not for Noah. For you. Well, both of you.” He got up from the couch, reached under the Christmas tree for a small box that had been hidden from view and handed it to her.

“Rafael, what is this?” She had already opened what she considered to be too many presents from him.

“Open it,” he urged.

She removed the wrapping paper and lifted the lid on the box. There were two things inside: a brochure for a resort in upstate New York and a calendar with the days December 26 through January 8 marked out with x’s.

“What’s this?”

“I may have — I hope I didn’t overstep, Liv. But I knew you had plenty of unused vacation days. So I... that is... damn, why does my tongue get tied talking to you sometimes, _querida_?” He ran a hand through his hair and took a deep breath. Exhaling, he spoke quickly.

“We’re going on a vacation. You, me and Noah. For twelve days. It’s already been approved by Dodds.” He looked at her, hoping she wasn’t going be angry at him for going behind her back and getting the vacation time approved, as well as booking the resort.

For a moment she didn’t say anything. Then she laughed and leaned over to kiss him. “You’re so cute when you’re flustered. A vacation sounds like a wonderful idea, Rafa. While we’re away we can talk about moving into your place.”  
  


**THE END**

_Not really, this is just the beginning for them….._


End file.
